Heroes of Legend: DBZ
by Hipster Bardock
Summary: There comes a time in every man's life where he can't be anything less than the man he was born to be.. This is Karlan's. What if Dragon Ball Z wasn't an anime? What if it actually happened and humanities memories of it all were wiped with the Dragon Balls? This a story following someone who finds that out and his whole world is turned upside down because of it. M for language.
1. Prologue

Two figures clashed in the skies high above the city of downtown Houston, each throwing out a plethora of punches while trying to dodge those that came their way. Each punch that met its mark was strong - so strong that upon landing, they sent out a shockwave visible to all those who watched, shaking the ground below and sending those trying to escape the mayhem falling to the ground.

"RUN!"

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

"WATCH OUT!"

Pedestrians scattered as one of the two figures was sent flying, spiraling downward toward the ground. Said figure, a man upon closer inspection, flew through the east side of a tower and came out the west, crashing **hard** against the ground below. There, he laid, unmoving outside of a few strained breaths in-between grimaces.

And just outside of the crater he was in stood a girl, wide-eyed and struggling between her desire to run and her desire to help.

She chose the latter, "Get up.."

Glancing up at the superpower still airborne, her panic rose, forcing her to jump down into the crater and shake the still down male.

"Get up! If you don't..-" She trailed off, tears filling her eyes. Up above, the aforementioned superpower had cupped his hands together and reared them back. It seemed like a pointless action - at least until it was those same cupped hands that started emitting a crimson glow, growing more and more apparent with each second that passed by.

"If you don't.. we'll all die!"

It was as if that single statement was the trigger for the figure in the sky to fire, because as soon as it left the girl's mouth, that's exactly what he did. Houston was covered in a crimson tint as the attack neared the ground below, sending even more pedestrians running in a panic; some even falling to their knees and sobbing, knowing there was no escaping their destruction.

And as the attack grew nearer, the girl in the crater's tears began to spill, moments before she cried out one last time..-

" **GET UP!"**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Pilot.

Less than a week into school and Karlan was already missing summer break.

Sitting in the row furthest from the front of his class was Karlan, a 5'10" lightskin sophomore who always seemed to wear a hoodie regardless of the temperature, with a neat Afro resting atop his head. He was in the last period of the day and more than ready to leave, constantly glancing at his phone and silently counting down the seconds until the bell rang. Fifteen more to go.

"Alright, class." Spoke the teacher in the front; a large, round woman with glasses resting atop of her face. The most noteworthy thing about her was her love for presentations, something that constantly put Karlan and the rest of the class to sleep. "I'll come around and check all of your notes, starting from the back and working my way to the front."

A sweatdrop formed upon the teen's head whilst the teacher started walking toward him; eight more seconds to go.

A smile formed upon her face as she neared his desk, "Karlan.. Do you have any work to sh-"

But before she could finish her question, the bell went off and a literal moment later, Karlan was on his feet and halfway to the door, backpack resting on his bag, a grin on his face, and his headphones over his ears. He started working his way through the crowded hallways, teachers and students alike who were all as eager as he was to leave, and the usual couples hugged up in a corner here and there. Considering the traffic, it was damn near a miracle that he was able to make it from the back of the school to the far west part of it in three minutes. Not because he was in a hurry to leave, but because..-

"Hey, Karlan!"

 **Her.**

Standing just a few yards from the teen was none other than Navion, a junior shorter than he, but able to reduce the teen to a stuttering mess with a simple greeting. Dark brown eye, curly hair, and a smile sweet enough to brighten the darkest of days. As she walked toward him with her signature smile forming upon her face, Karlan couldn't help but grin in return, offering a brief response.. in response.

"Hey, Navion..! How was..-"

He trailed off as he saw her walking past him, offering only a brief response to his unfinished question.

"Sorry, I gotta catch the bus..! We can talk tomorrow!"

And just like that, she was gone. But as he watched her walk away, his grin never faded. It wasn't until she was out of sight that he finally turned and continued on his way, turning down a smaller hallway and pushing through the exit and stepping out into the fall air. It wasn't until then that his grin faded from his face, replaced by a scowl.

His parents hadn't told him until thirty minutes into his last period, but he had to walk home from school - something that'd take three hours, at least. He lived pretty far away - at least ten minutes by car if there was no traffic.

"Geez.." He muttered, setting off with a small groan. An hour later and his was walking down the length of a curving road, staying just outside of the street, occasionally hopping into the ditch to his left in order to avoid any drivers that seemed about it hit him. It wasn't until the fourth time though that the teen was sent tumbling into the dirt, letting loose a string of curses whilst he pushed himself back to his feet. "Son of a..-"

But before he could finish, an orange glint caught his eye.

Left eyebrow raised, Karlan moved toward it, only stopping once he caught sight of what it was and when he did, his face broke out into a huge grin. It was a Dragon Ball; the two star ball if we were being specific, reflecting the setting sun off of it's surface.

He quickly bent down and picked it up, "I thought they only sold these things online.. Who the hell would even drop this out here and not notice that they did?" He thought aloud, rubbing off the dirt from the Dragon Ball onto his pants legs, slipping it into his backpack afterwards. Regardless of the circumstances, it belonged to him now. Whoever had owned it before him was long gone from what he had seen.

"I should ask around school tomorrow.. See if someone had one and dropped theirs.."

But unbeknownst to him, the Dragon Ball resting in his backpack started to do something.. **strange.** As the sun began to set and twilight began to take over, the sphere in his bag began to pulse, giving off a dim orange glow each time it did. Though not aware of it, Karlan's life was about to perform a complete 180..

And it'd be a lot sooner than he thought.

 _So if it wasn't clear before, I'll be making it clear now: I haven't really posted on this website or written a story in awhile, so I'm a tad bit rusty with writing, so.. reviews and the like are greatly appreciated. Let me know what you think!_


	3. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2:_ A Warning.

 _Chapter two is finally here! I know it's a slow start, but I promise that it'll get better in those to come. That being said, I'm still trying to work out a definitive schedule for posting these. Until I do, just expect one every few days assuming I have the muse or time to post. But enough of all of that. Enjoy the story! Reviews and the like are greatly appreciated!_

Everything felt hazy, constantly shifting and leaving the teen wondering whether or not the ground he stood upon was going to be solid one second and mist in the next, leaving him to plummet to whatever was below. Not that he could see it. In the void that he was in, everything was pitch black. So dark that even if he put his hand right in front of his face, he'd be unable to see it.

" _So you've found a Dragon Ball.. The four star ball at that.. Do you even know of the power that it holds, boy? A power so strong that it can render your planet inhabitable and the people on it extinct._ "

It came from all directions, deep and powerful, causing the ground to tremble with each word that it said. Even without being able to put a name to the face, Karlan could tell that whoever it belonged to was powerful. So powerful that if he really wanted to do so, he'd crush the teen without so much as a single bit of effort. But even though he was terrified, he pushed forward, step by step, walking through the darkness. He couldn't tell how he knew, but he knew that if he gave in, something bad would happen.. Something **really** bad.

" _I've been searching for them for ages.. and now that my journey is almost complete, I refuse to let you or anyone else stand in my way.. Not after coming this far.._ "

He was getting closer. The trembling of the ground was stronger and the dread he felt within himself grew as went deeper. Before long, the darkness around him nearly became suffocating, making it hard to breath and even harder to push forward.

" _Not after searching for_ _ **SO LONG!**_ "

It happened in a literal instant.

One moment he was struggling to push forward and take a single step forward; the next he was being sent back twice the amount of distance he managed to cover, a silent cry of pain escaping the teen, a fist imprint left on his chest as a indication of what just happened. He landed hard on the ground, tumbling back a few yards post landing whilst he struggled to breath, his eyes watering at the realization that he couldn't.

Not that it mattered. He'd be dead in another minute or so anyways.

Landing just a few short feet north of him was a gigantic beast clad in darkness, emitting a power so potent that the very air around him seemed to kneel in face of it, hands clenched and his gaze directed on the teen laid out before him. With a single step, he closed the distance between the two, extending his hand down at him. A few moments later and a purple orb was forming before it, growing more apparent and potent with each second that went by.

" _You'd be starting a war that neither you or the human race can win, boy. Give up the Dragon Ball Know that if you don't, you'll be the reason why I reduce this planet into nothing._ "

" _Know that if you defy me and hinder my plans.. everyone shall suffer._ "

Karlan jolted upright, face beaded with sweat and chest heaving, immediately grabbing his phone on the stand beside him. A quick-press-of-a-button later and he was laying back down, Sunday Candy by Chance The Rapper playing at full volume.

"What was..-"

He trailed off, a frown forming on his face soon afterwards. He had a nightmare. One so terrible that he could still feel the cold hold of fear that embraced his heart and tears welling up within his eyes; despite that, he couldn't remember what he had dreamed about, the memory quickly sinking to the deepest parts of his mind.

Another glance was taken at his phone and with it came a small sigh of frustration. The time was 5:47am and he'd have to get up in a little over ten minutes to start getting ready for school. If he tried going back to sleep..-

Wait, what was that glow?

Slowly, he sat back up, squinting at the source of a dim light on his dresser. The dragon ball that he had picked up on his way home from school the other day. Though wrapped in the darkness of his room, the sphere still gave off a faint light, growing until Karlan had to shield his eyes from it, and dying back down to a dim glow soon afterwards.

He was hesitant. That much was clear toward the glances toward the door to the far right and the thoughts of sprinting from the room as fast as he could before something bad happened to him, but something kept him from doing so. Maybe it was the soft glow that the dragon ball gave off every few seconds or maybe it was the fact that somehow, he could sense that it wouldn't harm him.

Karlan sighed, "I'm stupid for even thinking about this. The fact that I'm still here says a lot.."

But even as he said that, the teen pushed out of the bed and onto his feet, making his way toward the dragon ball. It didn't take long to; just a few steps, but in the face of something so foreign and otherworldly, it seemed to take an eternity. And upon reaching it, he reached out for it, wincing before he even laid a finger on it in preparation for the pain he was almost sure would come.

.. But none did. If anything, it felt exactly as it did the day before and minus the glowing, looked the same as well.

"Do they all do this..?"

Regardless, Karlan returned the dragon ball to his dresser, heading back to his bed to check his phone. 5:50am. Might as well take another shower to help wake him up.

So he grabbed a towel and some boxers and left the room, heading across the hallway toward the bathroom. A minute later and he undressed and standing underneath the water, bobbing his head and rapping along to a verse by Kendrick Lamar that played on his phone. But even as he showered and long afterwards when he was dressed and heading out the door, something plagued him, rooted deep within the back of his mind. A warning and a threat made by someone an infinite times more powerful than he.

And even though he was ignorant of it then, Karlan would soon find out..

He was better off leaving the dragon ball back in the fields he found it in.


End file.
